On the topic of David, Sarah, and the divorce, I kind of always thought David is proof that Sarah isn't the flawless parent fandom tends to paint her as. If I were to guess I would say that David reacted to the divorce with anger and lashing out at everyone and Sarah just... didn't know how to help him the way she knew how to help Nick, and so she kind of did gravitate towards Nick's needs because she felt more like she knew what she was doing with him, and so David kind of did fall by the wayside. If nothing else David is basically the picture of the dismissive-avoidant attachment that came with the frame, so I relate more than most fans
i was gonna say, sarah is actually quite a permissive parent all things considered, i think bc she isn't "as bad" on page as Jane, for example, fandom tends to put sarah on a pedestal bc she isn't that, idk-- i don't even think jane is a bad parent, she's flawed for sure but not evil or anything. david is incredibly interesting to me as a character because he is so flawed compared to everyone else and unlike tao, we never really get the backstory as to why david is the way he is. honestly, if i'm doing my math correctly, David was probably like 10-11 when their parents divorced so he probably has very potent memories of how that went down compared to Nick who probably only has the emotional remnants of being scared and upset. david, being older at the time, was probably harder to deal with than Nick who needed to be coddled and I can def see that being easier for Sarah as she herself seems very conflict avoidant (and so is Nick for that matter) vs. David who initiates conflict and in my opinion, seeks validation from Stephane bc he knows he isn't going to get it from his mom. i don't know much about attachment styles tbh, but i did google dismissive avoidant and i feel called out, lol. i can def see that for david too. i was so angry when my mom and step-dad divorced and it literally made me evil for like six months straight because of how quickly the rug of stability was ripped out from under me, and it's seriously changed how i approach relationships (aka: incredibly afraid of any and all vulnerability and intimacy bc what if that can be weaponized against mE AHEM) It's a common yet difficult thing having divorced parents and I don't think fandom really acknowledges how traumatizing that is for David and Nick even though it happened years ago. Idk, David feels like such a cartoon villain when he's first introduced and i think his role was meant to be dickish older brother, but given how he's been in chapter eight, i'm hopeful Alice is fleshing him out a bit more. I really want to write a fic exploring David's character someday, I'm just scared to approach that given how fandom is. You've given em many thoughts to percolate, thank you.
